Spain’s DGT Announces New Laws For Overtaking Cyclists With €200 Fines
Spain News
Published: 27 January 2021 13:19 CET
Updated: 17 February 2021 13:19 CET
Spain’s traffic authority the DGT has announced that new laws will come into force this year to protect cyclists from overtaking vehicles.
The changes will mean that drivers will need to be more cautious when passing cyclists.
Currently, drivers may overtake a cyclist at the maximum speed for the road whilst allowing a safe distance of at least 1.5 meters.
However, under the new legislation, drivers will need to maintain a safe distance of two meters between their vehicle and the cyclist while dropping their speed by 20 km/h while performing the manoeuvre.
With the new restrictions, a vehicle travelling on a road with a maximum speed limit of 90 km/h, will have to drop their speed to 70 km/h before overtaking any cyclists.
Up until now, overtaking at a safe speed was only a recommendation. Once the new measures come into force via Royal Decree, they will become mandatory.
Any driver that is caught flouting the new legislation will face a fine of €200 and have three points removed from their driving licence.
It is the DGT’s view that many drivers do not slow down when overtaking cyclists, instead, they tend to accelerate in order to complete the manoeuvre.
The new measures were announced by Pere Navarro head of the DGT traffic department who said the new regulations were expected to be approved in the next few months and likely to come into effect by the end of 2021.
Figures from the DGT show that 36 cyclists were killed on Spain’s roads in 2020, mostly due to poor overtaking.
The DGT believe these and other measures will help towards meeting their objectives which is to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries from traffic accidents on the countries roads by 50% over the next decade.
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